Negotiating pay when I have been out of work - what worked for you?

I have been out of work for 20 weeks and feel pressure to accept less. I also do not want to sell myself short. How do you research fairly?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 9 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I gave a range based on local postings and said I was flexible depending on the whole package. They did not push back.